England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ambleston St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Ambleston lies in central Pembrokeshire roughly 8 miles northeast of the town of Haverfordwest. Ambleston sits a mile northwest of the B4329 road ks Haverfordwest through to the A487 road (Newport to Cardigan). Ambleston is a small and compact village with a single main street running northeast to southwest with an extension to the southeast enclosing the churchyard but otherwise lined with cottages, the wider parish is dotted with farms and cottages with no real aggregations. Some historians have linked Ambleston with the Roman station of Ad Vigesimum with Roman bricks and 2nd century pottery found a mile to the north at Castle Fleming adding some credibility. Earlier occupancy is also indicated by the presence of two pre-Roman burial chambers on the low hills above Wolf's Castle. The land is fertile but westerly which restricted the crops which could be grown at the time of this transcript to the hardier cereals and root crops but was primarily arable in nature. Ambleston is drained southwestwards by the Spittal Brook which meets the western branch of Afon Cleddau at Trefgarne before water is turned south and then southeast into the vast ria that is Milford Haven before eventually reaching the Irish Sea. Ambleston is sited at around 130 metres above the sea with land rising northeastwards to the fore-hills of the Prescelli Mountains, within a few miles heights of almost 200 metres can be found before rising more abruptly to Mynyss Castlebythe summiting at 347 metres. Ambleston parish was towards the more extensive range within its county covering almost 4,000 acres and supporting close to 600 parishioners. Ambleston, like most of Wales, is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Mary's church is now closed for worship and has been sold and converted into a private house early in 2025. The church sits within a circuit of lanes which enclose the churchyard at the heart of the village. Whilst the church is medieval in origin no sources deigns to equivocally date the period of its construction, there is a lancet so possibly as early as the 13th century for some of the fabric. The tower existed prior to 1779 when it is documented to have been almost completely rebuilt. Other windows, now blocked seem to date from a Georgian restoration of 1825 whilst a more thorough version was carried out between 1906 & 1908, Pevsner seems unimpressed by that work describing it as "without flair". Given the recent sale and conversion to "Tower House" there are questions about access to the churchyard so it may be prudent to confine views from the circular lanes which surround it, parking is best to the church's north where the former main entrance sat.